Pages

THANKS FOR VISITING!

I'm an Emmy Award Winning meteorologist at Fox 61 in Hartford. For the latest forecast updates (and fun stuff too, like food and family pics), please follow me on Facebook, twitter and instagram. I look forward to interacting with you there!

LIKE ME ON FACEBOOK!

Instagram @RachelFrankCT

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

So any chance of storminess late week is GONE. Here’s a snapshot of the BUFKIT through next Tuesday night. The red and green lines show temp and dewpoint according to one of our computer models called the GFS. Time increases from right to left (just to confuse you). But I want you to focus on the red and green swatches at the bottom right of the screen. This is relative humidity and is usually a good indicator of cloud cover. Not only is there no rain/snow in the forecast. But I don’t even see clouds after Thursday morning. Dry all week? Sunny all week? I’m going to be incredibly bored. Of course, the forecast changes. But so far it looks like a quiet and mainly mild start to February.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Clouds will increase tonight as a cold front approaches. A few snow showers/flurries are possible after midnight with temps dropping into the upper 20s to low 30s.

You will feel a breeze kick on Monday with winds gusting up to 30 mph. High pressure will provide partly to mostly sunny skies with temperatures in the upper 30s to low 40s. An approaching warm front will trigger a period of light snow after midnight. Although little accumulation is expected, a fresh coating of snow could make the roads slippery Tuesday morning. Snow ends early Tuesday with partial clearing. Temps will warm into the upper 40s! Wednesday looks even milder with temperatures in the 40s to near 50 and a few showers around.

The forecast for the late week is a big question mark right now. One of our important computer models (the Euro) shows a wintry mix for Thursday while others keep the forecast dry and sunny. There is also a chance for a bigger storm this weekend with snow inland and a mix on the shore. Of course it’s too soon to get into specifics. I expect to see big swings in the track over the coming days. It could miss us entirely! I'll keep you posted!

After four months of filling in for Rachel Lutzker on Morning Extra at 9 am, I’m back to working nights! You can catch my weathercasts on the News at 4 and 10 PM Sunday through Thursday nights. Don’t worry Geoff Fox fans! You can still get your fix at 11 PM.

It was really fun filling in for Rachel Lutzker. Remember, I’m a meteorologist. I didn’t go to school to be an anchor or a host. I didn’t take any journalism or communications in college. So the whole experience was a challenge for me!

During my time on the show I had to learn how to read off a teleprompter! (You know us meteorologists just make the forecast up as we go, ha ha.) I helped prepare interview questions for our guests, I selected fun stories and viral videos to share with all of you. And I even got a taste of hard news. But through it all, I think I became a better meteorologist! How is that possible, you ask? Well, I’m more comfortable and confident on air. In the end, that helps me communicate the weather better to you!

I’m really going to miss everyone on that show. And drinking on live TV at 9 am. But I’m SO excited to return to nights! Weather is my passion. I love staying up late to watch the new model runs come in. But mostly, I love delivering the weather to everyone while they’re half asleep every night.

You may have noticed (thanks to those of you who did) that I took a week off before my transition to nights. I went to visit my grandparents in Nevada. I have always been extremely close to them, as they lived next door to me for my entire childhood! My grandmother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s over a decade ago but recently had to stop traveling. It’s a horrible disease. But she is the strongest woman I know and she’s fighting hard. It feels really good to take care of her like she has taken care of me all these years. She deserves it. And my grandfather loves her so much it makes you want to cry, watching them together. Here's a pic of me with my sister and grandmother (we call her Nanny).

I’m so glad I got to sneak in a little time with them. I even had a chance to see a Vegas show and go zip lining in the desert! Bootleg Canyon Flightlines

But now I’m home and excited to get back to work. If you made it this far in the post, I apologize for rambling. See you at 4 and 10 PM!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

I'm on a computer at my grandparent's house in Las Vegas. I left out of Newark this morning on one of the few flights that actually got off the ground! I should be spending time with my family. I haven't seen them in one year. But I couldn't shake my anxiety. I had to check up on snowfall totals.

This was one of the few occasions southern Connecticut received more snow than the northern half of the state! Southern CT picked up 4"-10" of snow with northern CT getting just 2"-4". I feel good about the forecast timing and impact of the storm. I don't feel as good about the forecast snow accumulations. And even though I beat myself up about this, I have to remind myself that there are limitations in weather forecasting.

Just like it’s impossible to tell the exact path of an individual thunderstorm in the summertime more than an hour or two ahead of time, snowstorms also have regions of higher and lower snow-making potential within the larger system that can only be tracked in real time. Looking at the radar during the storm, it was obvious southern CT was going to get the jackpot with heavy bands of snow. Looking back, I don't think any computer model nailed the forecast.

Here are some of the National Weather Service snowfall reports! Enjoy the snow and I'll be back in Connecticut for the next one! Time to go spend time with my family. Speaking of southern CT hitting the jackpot...hopefully I'll hit the big one here in Vegas. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Friday, January 20, 2012

The biggest storm of the year is on the way, although that’s not saying much!!

Timing: 3-7 AM snow begins, heavy at times through noon-1PM. Snow will stick to the roads immediately. Even salted roads are no match for temps in the teens! Snow ending Mid-late afternoon.

Accumulations: 3”-6” of a light powdery snow. Locally higher amounts are possible because of the fluff factor. I wouldn’t be surprised if southern CT picked up a little more than far northern CT (the opposite of what usually happens).

Bottom Line: No matter how much snow falls, make tomorrow a movie/book reading/house cleaning day. The roads will be snow covered and slippery. And I forsee many accidents when I look into my crystal ball. A breeze will cause low visibility out on the roads.

Tomorrow Night: You don’t have to cancel plans. The snow will be done but the plows will still be catching up and hard at work clearing the snow.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Should I even call this next one a storm? Last year this "storm" would just be a hiccup compared to the feet of snow from our barrage of January nor'easters.

Our weather will remain during the DAY tomorrow with highs in the 30s. Morning sunshine will fade behind increasing clouds. This is a quick hitter. Right now it looks like the snow will start around or just after the evening commute. So head home from work as early as possible just in case. Remember, people forget how to drive in the snow! Snow will be over by Friday morning but there will still be some slippery spots and some school delays are possible (sorry kids, you'll still have school after this one).

Most of the state is getting 1"-2" of snow, with up the 3" possible in higher elevations tomorrow night.

We have another chance for snow on Saturday. If it's just snow as the GFS predicts, we could get 2"-6" of accumulation. But the NAM and EURO show some mixing which would keep accumulations lower in the 1"-4" range. No matter what falls, Saturday is not looking like a fun day to play outside. Right now Monday's event looks like more of a wintry mix then another snow storm. But I'll watch everything and keep you posted! Hey...at least we've got SOMETHING to follow after this quiet and mild winter!

I did not know Dr. Mel personally. But I feel like I do. Don't we all feel like we know people that we watch from our living room?

Joe Furey, who is one of my mentors, was mentored by Dr. Mel. A few times Joe would teach me something that Dr. Mel taught him. So I guess Dr. Mel was teaching me indirectly. Joe says he was an incredibly smart man. I could tell by watching his forecasts. Everyone could.

On the News at 4 Joe Furey shared stories about his friend.

I'm not sure you can say he lost his battle to cancer. From what I heard, Dr. Mel was given a death sentence a long time ago. He beat the odds and survived another 16 years. He gave that cancer one hell of a fight.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Well, it’s official: winter has finally found its way back to Connecticut. After a freak October storm, we had quite a dry spell. Last night we added a little to the snow to the bank, 2.3" for Windsor Locks. Compared to last year, 2012 is a walk in the park!

We have three additional chances for snow/mix in the 7 day forecast. On Thursday night a clipper type storm will being a quick coating to an inch or two of snow. Then watch for a messy snow/mix to develop during the day on Saturday. Another few inches are possible. Finally, we are watching another smaller storm for Monday. It's too far in the future to write in stone yet. But we'll keep an eye on it. Every week in January 2011 I said the word "bombogenesis". This year....no "biggies" in sight.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

The northwest hills received a coating to 1"-2" of snow with a few spots recording 3" at the very highest elevations. A few other towns in northern CT also picked up a coating to an inch. Although other areas inland may have seen a brief mix, everyone changed over to rain this morning. Rain will come down heavy at times with lightning, thunder and gusty winds. Here are some of the NWS snowfall reports.

Check out these snowfall totals compared to the ones we received last year on this day! Here's a link to my blog from last year to refresh your memory. We made the history books, setting a new record snowfall in Windsor Locks, one of our climate sites in Connecticut. Windsor Locks scored 24.0”. This beat the previous record of 21.9” which occurred February 12, 2006. The event also set a new record for greatest daily snowfall!

This pic was taken last year from Joe in Stratford. Remember we had so much on the ground, we were running out of places to put it all!After the rain tapers to a close, we will undergo a stair-step plunge back into winter, losing about 10 degrees per day until Sunday. That’s when the forecast calls for high temperatures in Hartford of 22 degrees, OUCH!!! If all goes as expected, Sunday would be only the second day so far this month with a high temperature below the freezing point. The cold will not last forever. Temperatures flirt with 40 again early next week.

Friday, January 6, 2012

A massive two-day warm-up is underway thanks to a dome of high pressure shifting eastward from the toasty Midwest. High temps will rise into the 40s to near 50 Friday and Saturday. Still, for all the pattern shifts, the atmosphere is starkly lacking moisture and will continue to stay dry for the time being.

Temperatures will remain a few degrees warmer than normal throughout next week, as a stable jet stream pattern constrains the atmosphere’s ability to get anything interesting going. The next storm on the horizon looks to arrive towards the end of next week, but any associated precipitation should fall entirely as rain.

Monday, January 2, 2012

After the 3rd warmest December on record...We are finally in for a big cool down! Here's the catch, the arctic air will only be around for TWO DAYS with daytime highs in the 20s and low temperatures in the single digits tomorrow night. Sorry snow lovers, other than a few flurries the forecast remains dry.